Conventional satellite antennas for mobile applications, such as portable units for field communications, require relatively small packaging and must be adaptable for rapid deployment in the field. Such antennas typically comprise an antenna reflector and an antenna feed for conveying wave energy between a transceiver (transmitter and/or receiver) and the reflector. The antenna is usually mounted to the antenna feed either permanently or removably using conventional hardware such as a brace or bracket. While mounting hardware has been found relatively useful for attaching antennas to feeds, it is often susceptible to loss or misplacement in the field, hindering or even preventing proper feed/antenna assembly. For this reason, a special tool, e.g., a screw driver or Allen key, is usually required to remove the antenna from the feed.
In the case of portable units for military applications, satellite antennas must additionally be adapted for assembly and operation under toxic or other hazardous conditions, for instance, to comply with Mission Oriented Protective Posture (or MOPP) gear protection standards. Appropriate MOPP gear protection includes, but is not limited to, special or customized gloves for use in chemical or nuclear warfare applications. Although such gloves are necessary for protection of the user during antenna deployment, they can make it difficult or even impossible to handle antenna mounting hardware, e.g., screws and other small hardware, thereby preventing the user from attaching the antenna feed to those antennas requiring mounting hardware for deployment. For this reason, tools are typically not permitted for use in assembly.
While conventional arrangements for mounting an antenna/antenna reflector to an antenna feed have been found useful, the need for special tools and mounting hardware, particularly under MOPP or other special conditions, has limited their practicality and effectiveness. Moreover, not only do the associated configurations and orientations, i.e., upon rotation, characteristic of antenna/feed assembly operation often make it difficult and costly to minimize packaging size, but they also hinder ready and reliable deployment in the field for achieving fast or even instantaneous satellite communications linkup.